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Lecture: Kai Strehlke – The Digital Toolbox of Herzog & de Meuron

Digital Technology Group
The growth of Herzog & de Meuron and the increasing size and complexity of the projects demanded an adaptation of the office structure. The complexity and the amount of required data in some projects is increasing exponentially, while the design cycles tend to become shorter and faster. To be able to manage unique and different conceptual design approaches, we have created a digital technology group inside the office, which is integrated into the design teams to provide support and create tools that assist the project in achieving the design goals. The group’s aim is to deal with complex geometries in a very flexible and adaptive manner.
We use the computer as a tool to facilitate an efficient exchange of our ideas with engineers and consultants. It is a powerful tool to draw and control complex spatial conditions, as well it is very helpful to streamline the process from design to production. But we never use the computer as a tool for finding a form or to replace the creative design process of dialogue and exchange within the design team. The computer cannot substitute conceptual thinking or intuitive vision; it is merely an addition to the broader set of tools we use in our design process.

Kai Strehlke born 1966, studied architecture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ) in Zurich, Switzerland and the Center for Environmental Planning & Technology (CEPT) in Ahmedabad, India, 1988-1995. After post graduating with a master of computer aided architectural design, 1997-1998, he researched and lectured at the chair of CAAD at the ETH Zurich with Maia Engeli and Ludger Hovestadt, 1998-2004. Since 2005 he is working for the architectural office of Herzog & de Meuron in Basel where he built up and leads the Department of Digital Technologies of the office. He integrated a digital workshop in the office with different CNC technologies and his team supported various projects on geometrical issues as well as on parametric design. In 2008 he submitted his PhD at the Swiss Federal School of Technology with the theme of “The Digital Ornament in Architecture, its Generation, Production and Application with Computer-Controlled Technologies”.